Uniform Procedures for State Highway Safety Grant Programs

This is to request approval of a new information collection request (ICR) titled “Uniform Procedures for State Highway Safety Grant Programs”. The purpose of the information collection is to collect information necessary for NHTSA to issue grants to States. This ICR is being submitted as part of a rulemaking to establish new uniform procedures for States to apply for and manage grants under Chapter 4 of Title 23, U.S.C., including State highway safety program grants, the National Priority Safety Program grants, and racial profiling data collection grants. On September 15, 2022, NHTSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL). Rulemaking has been completed and became effective June 5, 2023 (See https://www.regulations.gov/document/NHTSA-2022-0036-0090) This ICR now replaces NHTSA’s existing ICR with OMB Control Number 2127-0730, for which we seek discontinuance. This ICR covers 5 information collections. These include: (1) the submission of a triennial Highway Safety Plan (HSP); (2) the submission of an annual application; (3) the submission of an annual report; (4) responses provided by States who wish to apply for 405b funds using the occupant protection assessment criterion; and (5) responses provided by States who wish to apply for 405d funds using the impaired driving assessment criterion. To receive grants, a State must submit a triennial Highway Safety Plan (HSP) that supports its qualifications for receiving grant funds. Specifically, the triennial HSP consists of information on the highway safety planning process, performance plan, highway safety countermeasure strategies for programming funds, a performance report, and certifications and assurances. Separately, an annual application is required to provide the project level detail in support of the triennial HSP and application materials that cover Section 405 and 1906 grants. States must also submit an annual report evaluating their progress in achieving performance targets and providing information about activities implemented during the grant year within 120 days after the fiscal year end. Responding to the information collection would be required for respondents to receive grants. Respondents to the collection include 57 State respondents (the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Secretary of the Interior). The triennial HSP is submitted once every three years, and the grant application is submitted annually. States must also submit an annual report. In addition, as part of the statutory criteria for Section 405 grants covering the areas of occupant protection and impaired driving countermeasures, some States may choose to, or be required to, receive an assessment of their State programs every five years in order to receive a grant. The assessments involve State and subject matter expert respondents. The assessment involves States providing certain information and responding to questions that are then provided to the subject matter experts. The subject matter experts in turn evaluate performance and provide recommendations for the purpose of improving programs in the covered areas. NHTSA estimates that, on average, 65 subject matter experts will conduct State assessments each year, and those responses will be coordinated by 13 administrative assistants. The subject matter experts are either recruited by NHTSA or the States volunteer to become assessors and are provided payment for their time. As explained in more detail below, the estimated annual burden hours averaged over the triennial cycle for all State respondents is 36,736 hours and a total cost of $1,896,739.68.

The latest form for Uniform Procedures for State Highway Safety Grant Programs expires 2026-08-31 and can be found here.

Section 402 Triennial HSP

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